Paisley Pirates are back on the ice in preparation for their SNL Championship defence.

Ian Turley’s men lifted the league trophy back in February and went on to reach the Scottish Cup and Play-Off finals.

Now the Pirates are back into pre-season preparations for the season ahead, and Turley urged his players to forget about last season’s success and focus fully on the season ahead.

He said: “It seems an awful long time ago since we celebrated winning the league, but that’s maybe not such a bad thing.

“While we will be defending league champions that will count for nothing this season, apart from maybe encouraging opponents to try and beat us.

“It’s time to forget about what we did and concentrate on what we need to be doing this season.”

Head coach Ian Turley is still running the rule over potential signings and revealed that he is considering moves for some overseas players.

He added: “We’ve had a few foreign players in contact with us looking to try out so we’ll see what happens on that front. There’s still time for potential new signings to come to a practice and let us see what they’ve got, but I wouldn’t want them to be waiting too much longer before getting on the ice.

“We’ve also made an important off-ice appointment by bringing on board one of our main sponsors, Steven Gardner from Cold Blooded Sports, as equipment manager and he’ll be on the bench with us on match nights.”

Paisley Pirates Supporters Club will host a Race Night in Priorscroft Bowling Club on Saturday, September 30, starting at 7.30pm.

Entry is £5 per adult with kids going for free, supporters can buy a horse in their name for £3, and they can sponsor a race for only £25.

The club are looking for prizes which can be presented to winning owners, as well as the usual prizes for the raffle. If you are interested in sponsoring, buying a horse or just going along on the night email: cadenheadmarie1@gmail.com.